Lineup

Polaris

Since the release of their debut album “The Mortal Coil”, Sydney’s Polaris have shown no signs of slowing down. One of 2017’s most anticipated heavy releases, ‘The Mortal Coil’ stunned audiences and critics upon its release in November, landing at #6 on the ARIA Album Charts, #1 on the Independent Albums Chart, and scoring a Triple J Feature Album. In 2018 Polaris cemented their place in the global scene with a metalcore torch held high in their hands, touring through the US, Europe and the UK, selling out 3 Australian Tours, including their national Spring tour in November where they performed their biggest headline shows to date.

2019 kicked off with Polaris returning to Europe and the UK supporting UK metalcore kings, Architects on their massive arena run throughout January and February. A run which also saw Polaris supporting Architects in August on their ‘Holy Hell’ Australian Tour.

In March, they returned to perform their first shows of the year on home soil as part of Download Festival in Sydney and Melbourne – entertaining their largest crowds to date. “Playing to a HUGE hometown crowd, the metalcore lords tore through a set of both newer and older material—and they had the pit spinning through it all.” – Hysteria Magazine. In April they toured Japan for the first time and over the European Summer returned for a run of Festival appearances as well as their first headline shows in the UK and Germany, with their only London headline show selling out, receiving a 4K review in Kerrang Magazine. “It’s no secret that Australia has become a hotbed for world class metal acts. It seems this band could well be its next premium export”.

January 2020 will see Polaris make their third appearance at Unify Gathering.

Tonight Alive

Since 2008, from the outside it seemed like Tonight Alive were living every band’s dream: they were signed to a major label, released a trio of successful albums – including two ARIA Top 10 hits – and years of relentless touring saw the Sydneysiders become a force on the global music scene.

Behind the curtain, it was a completely different story for the four-piece. Coming into their third record with peak success the #1 goal, the pressure was on for Tonight Alive to create a big record with that ever-elusive radio hit.

In spite of all the good intentions in helping the band reach their goals, Tonight Alive struggled with their identity in a corporate environment. At a time when vocalist Jenna McDougall was excited to take creative risks with her image to match their message of empowerment, she also had to make sure it was palatable for a wide audience. McDougall couldn’t understand why she couldn’t be the same person on the stage as she is off it, and this had a deep impact on her formative years.

Stray From The Path

Over a decade into their career, Stray From The Path have achieved a kind of longevity rarely seen in hardcore. With each successive release and relentless touring, longtime members Tom Williams (guitar) and Drew Dijorio (vocals) have taken the band from scrappy Long Island locals to powerhouse globetrotters. Anthony “Dragon Neck” Altamura (bass) joined in 2011 and Craig Reynolds (drums) in 2016, solidifying the lineup and helping the band evolve into their current incarnation: a behemoth of groove-laden, metallic hardcore riffing and hip hop-influenced vocal cadences.

Void Of Vision

Still riding the high off the release of their sophomore album ‘Hyperdaze’, Melbourne quartet Void Of Vision are set to take on stages home and abroad and prove a point.

Accompanying names like The Amity Affliction, Underoath, Crossfaith & Northlane, the wrecking crew are ready to showcase their brand of metalcore mania to all new audiences in celebration of a return to true form.

Knocked Loose

For some it was all of the live energy, for others it may have been the massive sleeper success of their 2016 LP but whatever it may be, Knocked Loose’s arrival in the general public consciousness transcends metal and hardcore and into a new arena entirely. And maybe literally into arenas in the near future.

Forged on musical bonds built at an early age, Knocked Loose came together in the small yet relatively formidable hardcore / punk scene of the greater Louisville, KY area– the same that gave birth to bands ranging from Slint to Breather Resist to Endpoint to Coliseum. And though said scene was relatively strong, a lack of available bands, touring parties and scarcity of gigs forced diversity– mixing genres and challenging young ears with new ideas, approaches and styles. That diversity­ – death metal bands mingling with youth crew, screamo on the same bill as Am-Rep-style bands and on and on– created the basis of Knocked Loose musically and the genesis for their approach, an amalgam of heavy influences that never commits to any singular style but maintains a loyalty to the hardcore tradition.

Kublai Khan TX

Energetic, aggressive, and passionate music. Kublaiu Khan are a four piece metalcore band based in north Texas. We say what’s on our hearts to express how we feel, who we are, what we stand for, and won’t stand for, as well as the problems of our generation. In hopes of tapping into the underground and revealing the unseen lives and feelings of the youth in modern American society. We are fighting to make an impact in a music scape bogged down with meaningless lyrics and recycled with mindless music. Trying to push messages that often get overlooked or ignored in the nation today, hoping to use our music as a vessel to relate with people and emit hope.

Eat Your Heart Out

Over time, creativity blossoms. Encouraged by experience and doused in inspiration, art reaches its full potential much like a flower in bloom. Eat Your Heart Out strive for the same heights on their full-length debut, Florescence [Fearless Records]. The Newcastle, Australia quintet—Caitlin Henry [vocals], Andrew Anderson [guitar], Will Moore [guitar], Dom Cant [bass], and Jake Cronin [drums] progress personally and creatively over the course of eleven tracks artfully and articulately steeped in grunge realism, emo intimacy, punk panache, and pop ambition.

The Brave

Formed in Brisbane in 2013, The Brave quickly started turning heads with 2014 EP ‘Endless’, which captured their particular brand of lightning in a bottle, then continued with the critically acclaimed breakout debut album ‘Epoch’ in 2016, which won plaudits worldwide from the likes of BBC Radio 1, Kerrang, Triple J and more. ‘Aura’ takes that groundwork and builds on it in striking fashion.

‘Aura’ is a bold snapshot of a band seeking to use the simple power of music to move people. Threaded throughout are themes of change, love and loss, and taken as a whole body of work it’s sure to further establish The Brave as one of the most forward-thinking and exciting bands in heavy music in 2019.

Columbus

Bands evolve from album to album as the lives of its members, and their music tastes, continue to change.

That’s particularly true in the case of Columbus, whose debut album was entitled Spring Forever, but its follow-up A Hot Take on Heartbreak has seen the Brisbane trio opting for a dramatic change of season. On Spring Forever we went into the studio and did exactly what we wanted, recalls Columbus singer/guitarist Alex Moses of their debut. But after touring that record and it coming time to do a new one, we realised that the music we wanted to play was distinctly different.

We’re at the point now where the band has done a lot of really cool things, says Alex, citing tours with You Me At Six and Real Friends as highlights. We had big dreams on the first record, but it ended up being a bit of a reality check. It’s not like you release one record and become the biggest band in the world – it takes a few years. The You Me At Six tour showed us to play big rooms, with a band that’s transcended their scene to become a big act in their own right. That’s what we want.

Sleep Talk

Heavy bands from Adelaide rarely move out of the sleepy suburbs and onto the national stage, but Sleep Talk are changing that with their uniquely precise-yet-frenetic brand of post-hardcore in the form of debut album Everything In Colour. Having signed to UNFD for its release, the band – singer Jacob Clement, guitarists Lewis Tito and Fraser Ray, bassist Josh Healey and drummer Michael Belletti – are looking to expand their reach far beyond South Australia.

Weighbridge

Something Something Explosion

Caught in a generation of young adults who can’t afford to buy houses because they’d prefer to eat avocado on toast, punk-rock trio Something Something Explosion refuse to blend into the background of the Australian music scene. Transporting you to an underground pub somewhere in East London during the early 90s, the contagious melodies and catchy riot-style lyrics – in combination with live shows that hit you like a bat to the face – can capture any punk lover’s heart before the end of the song.